Man is a social entity that needs to interact in a group for various reasons including survival. These social structures need some kind of governing, because they are not useful without any order. Since a good administrator is the one who governs according to the needs of others, it is important to understand what the human nature is, despite its difficulty. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the thinkers have made numerous assumptions on the nature of man, and thereby derived many superstructures to govern people. Some of those assumptions have been widely accepted, and the corresponding superstructures have been put into application.
Based on very different understandings of the needs and the nature of man, with very different ideals, Communism, Fascism and Capitalism are the most prominent superstructures in the recent history. However, they all produce similar outcomes when put into practice, because they all govern over men who have one common fundamental nature. Communism has a scientific understanding of man, in which the class struggle is fundamental. Its ideal is equality, which is mostly economic. Nazism, in contrast, assumes the fundamental nature to be instinct for the self-preservation and domination. In Nazi understanding, the struggle is not to be ended, but to be supported. This idea is rooted in the teachings of Nietzsche, but when it is applied according to the pseudo-evolutionary science of Nazis it becomes racism. Unrelated to the idea of Übermensch, the Nazi ideal is the Germanic domination on the world. Modernity, supported by its Capitalist economy, assumes the human’s most important need to be freedom. The approach of modernity is not scientific idealism or medieval blood-line preservation, but utilitarianism. Although these three ideologies have very different ideals and systems of thought, they all produce exploitative striving of man, for a more effective production and technology, which brings about more advanced control over nature. This common characteristic proves that the fundamental nature of man is the will to overcome nature, due to his will to change his dissatisfactory conditions.
Karl Marx analyzes the history scientifically from a materialist perspective, reaching the Communist ideology as a conclusion. The history that he classifies and analyzes leads to a conclusion: “What else does the history of ideas prove, than that intellectual production changes its character in proportion as material production is changed?”[1] Instead of studying the nature of man, Marx studies the modes of production to determine the needs of people, because to him the human nature is always determined by the economic activities. He describes the modern capitalist ideas as “the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property”[2]. Never an idea is completely original, because it is always rational consequences of modes of production. In the Communist system of thought, there is no room for unscientific ideas, since its ideals come from the analysis of history with regard to the materialistic values. This scientific character is not limited in the leaders of the movement, but expected from the whole proletariat. “The Proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of immense majority”[3] Consciousness is the key element of this movement; without it worker is a rebel, not a revolutionary. Marx does not want rebels because they are Dionysian, not suitable for his Apollonian understanding of historical progress. The Communist approach to man is limited to a view of the Apollonian forces inside man, unable to see the chaos.
After their purely Apollonian analysis of humanity and its history, the Communist thinkers reach some ideals for the future of man. It must not be forgotten that these ideals are results of an analysis that cannot see the Dionysian half of man. Since they think that the problem is only material, “forever freeing the whole society from exploitation, oppression and class struggles”[4] is the aim of their revolution. Lenin further explains the mechanics of the society that will be created after the revolution: “Every worker, therefore, receives, from society as much as he has given it.”[5] By bringing justice to the income distribution, the Communists solve the problem of exploitation. Nevertheless, because of their Apollonian understanding, the Communism only wants to solve the problems that can be seen on the surface.
When Communists try to apply these ideals they see that there is something missing in their analysis. Although their plans look purely logical on the paper, they cannot be applied with success. The initial event that proves that the world is not fully logical is the fact that the only place the revolution succeeded was Russia which “had been late to emerge from Feudalism and late in industrializing.”[6] If the history worked as logically as Marx expects the Communist revolution would have happened in the Western industrialized countries. Because of the half Apollonian and half Dionysian human nature, which always have the will to have more control over nature, people in Soviet Russia started willingly exploiting themselves for ideals. “The withering away of the money that indicated how close the society had already come to communism”[7] was in fact an hyper-inflation showing the unpleasant economic conditions. “The Soviet Union must built more and produce more than any other country.”[8]: Unable to perceive that they exploit themselves, Russian workers worked very hard to produce more. Although the Communists believe that the aim is to end the exploitation of working class, in practice it is clear that the Communist man ambitiously works to get more out of nature even without any individual benefit. In Communist Russia, the Apollonian veil over the Dionysian fight against the nature was the competition between the Communist Russia and the Western Capitalist powers.
Another result of the man’s will to change the world is Nazism. The means of the change in Nazism is analogous to Nietzsche’s thoughts. Hitler describes the Nazi approach in Mein Kampf: “the realization of the theoretician’s ultimate purpose can never be realized… complete fulfillment will fail due to the general imperfection and inadequacy of man.”[9] Nietzsche would agree with Hitler on the inadequacy of man and impossibility of reaching ideals. Hitler’s and Nietzsche’s ways to the ideals are also very similar. “But the natural law of all development demands, not the coupling of two formations which are simply not alike, but the victory of the stronger… and the strength made possible alone by the resultant struggle.”[10] Although they both think power struggle is essential, their understandings of struggle are very divergent. The struggle is racial for Hitler, but creative and selfish for Nietzsche. Hitler tries to apply the modern ideas of Nietzsche according to his own medieval mindset. The result is a totally mislead understanding of the nature of man, which sees man as a wild animal. Since Nazi perspective lacks the Apollonian logic, the results of this understanding are totally Dionysian.
The Dionysian Nazi’s will, as well as Dionysian Nazi methods, finds its way to becoming another method of progress against nature. Unlike the other modes of production, Nazi mode of production is based on a chaotic system with a high amount of brutality. “There was no law to prevent their random cruelty.”[11]: This system consists of both death and chaos, thus is Dionysian. The will to overcome nature, despite Hitler’s preaching about the laws of nature, is inherent in the Nazi system. However much they assert that they are against results of industrialization and technology, their plans about creating a colossal industrial zone in the Eastern Europe leads to advanced rule over nature. “It is certain that the first culture of humanity was based less on the tamed animal than on the use of lower human beings.”[12]: Unlike his many statements, in which Hitler sees the animals as a role model, this statement is the necessity to recognize some aspects about production that makes man different than animals. Even the retrograde and Dionysian culture of the Nazis obeys the will to have a better standing against nature.
The modernity and Capitalism have very different ideals than that of Communism and Fascism. Capitalist ideals are freedom, utilitarianism and individualism to the point of selfishness. Unlike Communism and Nazism, in which the individual attitudes should obey the group’s attitude, the modern ideal is the full expression of every individual. John Stuart Mill states the importance of this freedom: “If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”[13] Lenin, Stalin and Hitler’s stands against oppositionist ideas show the difference between modernity and the two authoritarian ideologies. Although some thinkers claim that this freedom of expression is an innate right, John Stuart Mill sees it as a design for more utility. “I regard utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions; but it must be utility in largest sense, grounded on the permanent interest of man as a progressive being.”[14] This emphasis on utility, which exists in all three ideologies, is most openly expressed only in modernity. The coexistence of freedom and utilitarianism leads to individualism for Mill, but to selfishness for Nietzsche: “Entirely hateful and loathsome to it is he who will never defend himself… too patient man who puts up with everything, is content with everything; for that is the nature of slaves.”[15] Here Nietzsche lays the ambitious and selfish foundations of modernity, by emphasizing the will to change for one’s self. Modernity idealizes a world in which everybody works for his own benefit, which would create most utility for everyone, in an environment of freedom.
This system, which is ostensibly rational, creates a complete Dionysian chaos when applied. Competition is the main Dionysian force in the modern society; as the world gets more global, everybody has to compete with an infinite number of competitors. This creates a paranoia that leads to an ambitious and endless struggle of man. The chaos of competition overwhelms man so much, that he loses his consciousness in this hectic environment. The Underground Man confesses the condition of modern man: “we’ve all grown unaccustomed to life, we’re all lame, each of us more or less. We’ve even grown so unaccustomed at times we feel a sort of loathing for real “living life” and therefore cannot bear to be reminded of it.”[16] Man who can not postulate on his own life, and who prefers to ignore it, can never have consciousness. “They do not stop to think whether the aims they are pursuing are something they themselves want.”[17]: Not conscious about his desires, modern man follows the crowd, and tries to suit desires of other people. This lack of consciousness, together with the spirit of competition, brings about a powerful exploitation of man. Just like in Communism, in Capitalism man exploits himself for ideas that are not his. Again the struggle against nature, and thus hard work, overcomes other desires. The Apollonian looking modernity is a great Dionysian struggle for progress of humanity.
Although Capitalism, Fascism and Communism have very different aims, they all result in exploitation of man for better mastery over nature. People’s chaotic Dionysian forces always lead to this struggle, regardless of the leading superstructure. This progressive nature of man is related to the condition of man. Man is born to a world that is already designed according to a system. Whether it is monarchy, democracy, fascism or communism in political sense, or subsistence farming, industrial production or overseas trade in economic sense, it is never his creation. He has to conform to this design, but still there is dissatisfaction left in his psyche. When the system is powerful and working, man persuades himself that he does not have any dissatisfaction, thus makes it subconscious. Nonetheless, when system is not powerful, he feels this dissatisfaction strongly and can put it in words. When aristocracy lost its power the liberal idea, and when capitalism was shaken, the Communist and the Fascist ideas were formulated. This “will to change” is the main motivation behind all revolutions and reforms in human history. Man is always alien to the system he is born to, and always possesses a “will to change”.
This “will to change” is the main reason for human progress over nature. Every individual possessing this will strives for better conditions. This creates a continuous struggle along with progress. If we think the humanity as a whole, the most affective way to make humanity’s condition better is domination over nature. Man initially was a part of nature, and as the Dionysian “wills to change” of every man are added up, they bring about a gradual progress. Since the will to change is chaotic, it causes struggle among people too, but the ultimate result is always another victory against nature.
Because of the innate will to change, all three ideologies of the 21st century create results that are divergent from their initial ideals. Communism and Capitalism create a self-exploitation, whereas one was aimed at the annihilation of exploitation and the other was aimed at the complete freedom. Fascism overtly admits that its aim is exploitation of other races. Even though Nazis think that they are exploiting in order to obey nature, the ultimate result of the Nazi struggle is better mastery over nature for a stronger country that is supposed to survive the pseudo natural selection of races. It is necessary to repeat the fact that man never returns to nature, but goes further away from nature.
Man is separated from other animals because it does not obey the nature but tries to change it for his own purposes. He is always dissatisfied with his conditions. The nature of man is the will to change due to constant dissatisfaction, and a war against nature. Man made a colossal progress since the pre-historic ages. However, these victories over nature inevitably lessen the strength of nature, and cause phenomena like global warming and diminishing natural resources. Because he is dependent on nature, when man totally wins over nature, he will bring about his own destruction too. The end that Zarathustra longed for can be a result of the human nature that always fights the nature. If “man is a bridge not a goal”[18], he will overcome himself by overcoming nature.
[1] Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto, 73
[2] Marx. Karl. The Communist Manifesto, 70
[3] Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto, 64
[4] Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto, 35
[5] Lenin, Vladimir. State and Revolution, 150
[6] Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution, 15
[7] Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution, 80
[8] Sheila, Fitzpatrick. The Russian Revolution, 134
[9] Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf, 211
[10] Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf, 350
[11] Rees, Laurence. The Nazis, 129
[12] Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf, 295
[13] Mill, John S. On Liberty, 76
[14] Mill, John S. On Liberty, 70
[15] Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 209
[16] Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes From Underground, 129
[17] Fromm, Erich. Escape From Freedom, 251
[18] Nietzsche. Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 215
Based on very different understandings of the needs and the nature of man, with very different ideals, Communism, Fascism and Capitalism are the most prominent superstructures in the recent history. However, they all produce similar outcomes when put into practice, because they all govern over men who have one common fundamental nature. Communism has a scientific understanding of man, in which the class struggle is fundamental. Its ideal is equality, which is mostly economic. Nazism, in contrast, assumes the fundamental nature to be instinct for the self-preservation and domination. In Nazi understanding, the struggle is not to be ended, but to be supported. This idea is rooted in the teachings of Nietzsche, but when it is applied according to the pseudo-evolutionary science of Nazis it becomes racism. Unrelated to the idea of Übermensch, the Nazi ideal is the Germanic domination on the world. Modernity, supported by its Capitalist economy, assumes the human’s most important need to be freedom. The approach of modernity is not scientific idealism or medieval blood-line preservation, but utilitarianism. Although these three ideologies have very different ideals and systems of thought, they all produce exploitative striving of man, for a more effective production and technology, which brings about more advanced control over nature. This common characteristic proves that the fundamental nature of man is the will to overcome nature, due to his will to change his dissatisfactory conditions.
Karl Marx analyzes the history scientifically from a materialist perspective, reaching the Communist ideology as a conclusion. The history that he classifies and analyzes leads to a conclusion: “What else does the history of ideas prove, than that intellectual production changes its character in proportion as material production is changed?”[1] Instead of studying the nature of man, Marx studies the modes of production to determine the needs of people, because to him the human nature is always determined by the economic activities. He describes the modern capitalist ideas as “the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property”[2]. Never an idea is completely original, because it is always rational consequences of modes of production. In the Communist system of thought, there is no room for unscientific ideas, since its ideals come from the analysis of history with regard to the materialistic values. This scientific character is not limited in the leaders of the movement, but expected from the whole proletariat. “The Proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of immense majority”[3] Consciousness is the key element of this movement; without it worker is a rebel, not a revolutionary. Marx does not want rebels because they are Dionysian, not suitable for his Apollonian understanding of historical progress. The Communist approach to man is limited to a view of the Apollonian forces inside man, unable to see the chaos.
After their purely Apollonian analysis of humanity and its history, the Communist thinkers reach some ideals for the future of man. It must not be forgotten that these ideals are results of an analysis that cannot see the Dionysian half of man. Since they think that the problem is only material, “forever freeing the whole society from exploitation, oppression and class struggles”[4] is the aim of their revolution. Lenin further explains the mechanics of the society that will be created after the revolution: “Every worker, therefore, receives, from society as much as he has given it.”[5] By bringing justice to the income distribution, the Communists solve the problem of exploitation. Nevertheless, because of their Apollonian understanding, the Communism only wants to solve the problems that can be seen on the surface.
When Communists try to apply these ideals they see that there is something missing in their analysis. Although their plans look purely logical on the paper, they cannot be applied with success. The initial event that proves that the world is not fully logical is the fact that the only place the revolution succeeded was Russia which “had been late to emerge from Feudalism and late in industrializing.”[6] If the history worked as logically as Marx expects the Communist revolution would have happened in the Western industrialized countries. Because of the half Apollonian and half Dionysian human nature, which always have the will to have more control over nature, people in Soviet Russia started willingly exploiting themselves for ideals. “The withering away of the money that indicated how close the society had already come to communism”[7] was in fact an hyper-inflation showing the unpleasant economic conditions. “The Soviet Union must built more and produce more than any other country.”[8]: Unable to perceive that they exploit themselves, Russian workers worked very hard to produce more. Although the Communists believe that the aim is to end the exploitation of working class, in practice it is clear that the Communist man ambitiously works to get more out of nature even without any individual benefit. In Communist Russia, the Apollonian veil over the Dionysian fight against the nature was the competition between the Communist Russia and the Western Capitalist powers.
Another result of the man’s will to change the world is Nazism. The means of the change in Nazism is analogous to Nietzsche’s thoughts. Hitler describes the Nazi approach in Mein Kampf: “the realization of the theoretician’s ultimate purpose can never be realized… complete fulfillment will fail due to the general imperfection and inadequacy of man.”[9] Nietzsche would agree with Hitler on the inadequacy of man and impossibility of reaching ideals. Hitler’s and Nietzsche’s ways to the ideals are also very similar. “But the natural law of all development demands, not the coupling of two formations which are simply not alike, but the victory of the stronger… and the strength made possible alone by the resultant struggle.”[10] Although they both think power struggle is essential, their understandings of struggle are very divergent. The struggle is racial for Hitler, but creative and selfish for Nietzsche. Hitler tries to apply the modern ideas of Nietzsche according to his own medieval mindset. The result is a totally mislead understanding of the nature of man, which sees man as a wild animal. Since Nazi perspective lacks the Apollonian logic, the results of this understanding are totally Dionysian.
The Dionysian Nazi’s will, as well as Dionysian Nazi methods, finds its way to becoming another method of progress against nature. Unlike the other modes of production, Nazi mode of production is based on a chaotic system with a high amount of brutality. “There was no law to prevent their random cruelty.”[11]: This system consists of both death and chaos, thus is Dionysian. The will to overcome nature, despite Hitler’s preaching about the laws of nature, is inherent in the Nazi system. However much they assert that they are against results of industrialization and technology, their plans about creating a colossal industrial zone in the Eastern Europe leads to advanced rule over nature. “It is certain that the first culture of humanity was based less on the tamed animal than on the use of lower human beings.”[12]: Unlike his many statements, in which Hitler sees the animals as a role model, this statement is the necessity to recognize some aspects about production that makes man different than animals. Even the retrograde and Dionysian culture of the Nazis obeys the will to have a better standing against nature.
The modernity and Capitalism have very different ideals than that of Communism and Fascism. Capitalist ideals are freedom, utilitarianism and individualism to the point of selfishness. Unlike Communism and Nazism, in which the individual attitudes should obey the group’s attitude, the modern ideal is the full expression of every individual. John Stuart Mill states the importance of this freedom: “If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”[13] Lenin, Stalin and Hitler’s stands against oppositionist ideas show the difference between modernity and the two authoritarian ideologies. Although some thinkers claim that this freedom of expression is an innate right, John Stuart Mill sees it as a design for more utility. “I regard utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions; but it must be utility in largest sense, grounded on the permanent interest of man as a progressive being.”[14] This emphasis on utility, which exists in all three ideologies, is most openly expressed only in modernity. The coexistence of freedom and utilitarianism leads to individualism for Mill, but to selfishness for Nietzsche: “Entirely hateful and loathsome to it is he who will never defend himself… too patient man who puts up with everything, is content with everything; for that is the nature of slaves.”[15] Here Nietzsche lays the ambitious and selfish foundations of modernity, by emphasizing the will to change for one’s self. Modernity idealizes a world in which everybody works for his own benefit, which would create most utility for everyone, in an environment of freedom.
This system, which is ostensibly rational, creates a complete Dionysian chaos when applied. Competition is the main Dionysian force in the modern society; as the world gets more global, everybody has to compete with an infinite number of competitors. This creates a paranoia that leads to an ambitious and endless struggle of man. The chaos of competition overwhelms man so much, that he loses his consciousness in this hectic environment. The Underground Man confesses the condition of modern man: “we’ve all grown unaccustomed to life, we’re all lame, each of us more or less. We’ve even grown so unaccustomed at times we feel a sort of loathing for real “living life” and therefore cannot bear to be reminded of it.”[16] Man who can not postulate on his own life, and who prefers to ignore it, can never have consciousness. “They do not stop to think whether the aims they are pursuing are something they themselves want.”[17]: Not conscious about his desires, modern man follows the crowd, and tries to suit desires of other people. This lack of consciousness, together with the spirit of competition, brings about a powerful exploitation of man. Just like in Communism, in Capitalism man exploits himself for ideas that are not his. Again the struggle against nature, and thus hard work, overcomes other desires. The Apollonian looking modernity is a great Dionysian struggle for progress of humanity.
Although Capitalism, Fascism and Communism have very different aims, they all result in exploitation of man for better mastery over nature. People’s chaotic Dionysian forces always lead to this struggle, regardless of the leading superstructure. This progressive nature of man is related to the condition of man. Man is born to a world that is already designed according to a system. Whether it is monarchy, democracy, fascism or communism in political sense, or subsistence farming, industrial production or overseas trade in economic sense, it is never his creation. He has to conform to this design, but still there is dissatisfaction left in his psyche. When the system is powerful and working, man persuades himself that he does not have any dissatisfaction, thus makes it subconscious. Nonetheless, when system is not powerful, he feels this dissatisfaction strongly and can put it in words. When aristocracy lost its power the liberal idea, and when capitalism was shaken, the Communist and the Fascist ideas were formulated. This “will to change” is the main motivation behind all revolutions and reforms in human history. Man is always alien to the system he is born to, and always possesses a “will to change”.
This “will to change” is the main reason for human progress over nature. Every individual possessing this will strives for better conditions. This creates a continuous struggle along with progress. If we think the humanity as a whole, the most affective way to make humanity’s condition better is domination over nature. Man initially was a part of nature, and as the Dionysian “wills to change” of every man are added up, they bring about a gradual progress. Since the will to change is chaotic, it causes struggle among people too, but the ultimate result is always another victory against nature.
Because of the innate will to change, all three ideologies of the 21st century create results that are divergent from their initial ideals. Communism and Capitalism create a self-exploitation, whereas one was aimed at the annihilation of exploitation and the other was aimed at the complete freedom. Fascism overtly admits that its aim is exploitation of other races. Even though Nazis think that they are exploiting in order to obey nature, the ultimate result of the Nazi struggle is better mastery over nature for a stronger country that is supposed to survive the pseudo natural selection of races. It is necessary to repeat the fact that man never returns to nature, but goes further away from nature.
Man is separated from other animals because it does not obey the nature but tries to change it for his own purposes. He is always dissatisfied with his conditions. The nature of man is the will to change due to constant dissatisfaction, and a war against nature. Man made a colossal progress since the pre-historic ages. However, these victories over nature inevitably lessen the strength of nature, and cause phenomena like global warming and diminishing natural resources. Because he is dependent on nature, when man totally wins over nature, he will bring about his own destruction too. The end that Zarathustra longed for can be a result of the human nature that always fights the nature. If “man is a bridge not a goal”[18], he will overcome himself by overcoming nature.
[1] Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto, 73
[2] Marx. Karl. The Communist Manifesto, 70
[3] Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto, 64
[4] Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto, 35
[5] Lenin, Vladimir. State and Revolution, 150
[6] Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution, 15
[7] Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution, 80
[8] Sheila, Fitzpatrick. The Russian Revolution, 134
[9] Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf, 211
[10] Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf, 350
[11] Rees, Laurence. The Nazis, 129
[12] Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf, 295
[13] Mill, John S. On Liberty, 76
[14] Mill, John S. On Liberty, 70
[15] Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 209
[16] Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes From Underground, 129
[17] Fromm, Erich. Escape From Freedom, 251
[18] Nietzsche. Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 215
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